Out of Character
by Sheri Ledding
Summary: Harry and Ron wake up to find things not quite the way they left them the night before. The characters are written in character, the title refers to something else. HL RHr [Challenge]
1. Good Morning Harry

_Response to a challenge set forth by Cuban Sombrero Gal. Check her profile for details. Oh, and I like Dumbledore, so he's not dead. That's all the reason I have. We're gonna go with the theory that HBP didn't happen and this is sixth year, cuz I messed with the canon pairings too._

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

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Harry woke up early. It was the last day of classes before Christmas break, which, for some unknown reason, Dumbledore had insisted he go home for. He tried to push that thought from his mind. Today was about the goodbyes he had to say before they all left for a month. He had a particular one on his mind as he stretched awake. His thoughts diverted, however, to the fact that something felt…off. It was dark inside his four-poster, but something didn't feel right. He sat up and _knew_ something didn't feel right. He opened the bed curtains a little too hastily and almost knocked his wand off the bedside table and onto the ground. His spell-o-taped wand? He picked the wand up and looked at it, just now noticing his pale hands, and the 3 or 4 inches of forearm sticking out past the sleeve of his pajamas. _Calm, Harry. Panicking helps no one._ He was still in the Gryffindor seventh-year boys' dorm, so things weren't too wrong. He got up calmly and went to the bathroom, a little farther than usual, for a mirror. His reflection, however, wasn't brunette. There were no bright green eyes. There was no scar. Instead, red hair and freckles framed blue eyes that looked at him in complete disbelief. Well, that is, until the reflection shut its mouth and told him, in no nice terms, to "stop gawking!"

As Harry was still adjusting to the fact that he seemed to be inhabiting his best friend's body, he heard movement out in the dorm. He heard his own voice (it was so weird to not be attached to everything it said) yelp in surprise. He assumed that if he was in Ron's body, Ron was probably in his; and was probably just discovering that fact now. Unfortunately, that yelp brought Seamus to Harry's bedside. Harry prayed, for the time being, that Ron would keep his wits and pretend nothing was wrong. Ron knew, just as Harry did, that anything weird that happened to Harry was confidential and top secret. Even if Voldemort and his Death Eaters weren't involved, they could make Harry's potential moment of weakness into their victory. Seeing as Ron was waking up in Harry's body, Harry figured it was a pretty dead giveaway that this qualified under "anything weird that happened to Harry."

"You all right, Harry?"

Harry heard his own voice falter as Ron tried to master it, "Erm…yeah…just…uh…stubbed my toe, that's all."

"All right then. See you at breakfast!" Seamus sounded a little incredulous, but Harry was breathing a sigh of relief. Ron hadn't freaked out and he had maintained normalcy. At least, as close to normal as things ever got around Harry. Why did weird stuff always have to happen to him?

The next thing Harry knew, he was watching himself walk into the bathroom. _This is like an out-of-body experience! Well, I guess it kinda _is_ an out-of-body experience. _He quickly found himself literally beside himself at the sinks, brushing teeth and combing hair. His own eyes kept shifting to look at him, which seemed somewhat inside out to him. Once Harry was sure all of the other boys had left, he turned to himself. _This is so weird._ "Ron?"

"H-Harry?"

"Oh, thank Merlin it's you. I was worried it would be more complicated." _Not that this isn't complicated; but don't panic Ron, we have to keep this quiet until we can get to Dumbledore at the very least._

"Harry? You're short." _Always one for ingenious insights in times of stress._

"Yes, Ron, I always have been short, thanks for noticing now. I'm assuming you've considered already that this needs to be kept quiet. I'm hoping we can get it fixed almost immediately. So, we're going to breakfast and then we're going to Dumbledore's office. You can't let it slip at breakfast, we have to pretend to be each other." _Definitely easier said than done._

Ron nodded. "But, how did we get like this? Did someone slip us polyjuice potion?"

"No, you know that's only temporary, and you would have noticed that flavor, remember how horrible it tasted? Not to mention the racking pains when you change. I don't think that's what it was." _But I also have no clue what other options there might be. _

"Good, because as much as you're my mate and all, I really don't want to be eating anything that might have your fingernails in it."

"Um…thanks, I think. Anyway, we have to go to breakfast. Remember, you're me, and I'm you, until we get to Dumbledore. Okay?"

Ron nodded again. "Right."


	2. Good Morning Ron

Ron was surprised how early he woke up, but, then again, it _was _the last day of class before break and he had to make the most of it. He scowled, remembering that he wasn't spending the holiday at school, like he wanted to, because Dumbledore was making Harry go home. Hermione was heading home too, but after the holiday, she was joining him at the Burrow until school started back up. He stretched, trying to focus on what kind of "benefits" today's goodbye might reap for him without thinking about the several weeks following when he wouldn't see Hermione at all. Then, all thoughts of Hermione fled his mind. Something was wrong. He couldn't quite finger it, but he felt…restricted. He sat up. Yes, something was definitely _very_ wrong. He pushed the curtain of the four-poster open became even more confused. Everything was blurry. He held his hand up in front of his face. It was a bit tanner than he remembered it…and his pajamas fit a little too well. He managed to identify glasses on the bedside table next to a wand. He was starting to have a sneaking suspicion. He put the glasses on, clearing his vision, and saw Harry's copy of Fantastic Beasts on the table, too. It had to be Harry's copy, because Ron didn't have one, they shared. An involuntary yelp escaped his throat and confirmed his suspicion, that yelp was not his own, but that of his best friend. He was in Harry's body!

Yelping, however, had the side effect of bringing Seamus over to the bed to make sure he was okay. His mind raced. Alright, so he was in Harry's body. This definitely fell under "weird stuff happening to Harry" since it clearly suggested that Harry _wasn't_ in Harry's body. Speaking of which, where was Harry? Ron could only hope Harry was in his body, since that, at least, didn't leave anyone without a body…or a…soul? Anyway, as "weird stuff happening to Harry" this was something he had to pretend wasn't happening. _Well, that's easy enough to say! This isn't like pretending Harry didn't have a seizure in the middle of DADA. Well, actually, this is easier, isn't it? I just have to _be_ Harry. Right._

"You all right, Harry?" Seamus' question caught him off-guard, he'd forgotten the Irishman was there.

_Think Ron. What would Harry say? What does Harry sound like? Why would Harry randomly yelp just getting out of bed? _"Erm…" _Think of something!! _"Yeah…just…" _Just what, you idiot? _"uh…stubbed my toe, that's all." _Well, that's something. Not a very convincing something, but something. Wow it's weird to hear Harry's voice say what I'm thinking._

It didn't really look like Seamus bought it. "All right then. See you at breakfast!" The other boy left anyway, probably used to Harry acting a little strange; Ron was used to it, shouldn't everyone else be by now?

Unsure what to do next, he went and ahead and wandered into the bathroom, realizing halfway there that he was walking toward himself. _Cripes, this is weird. Cor, I'm tall! _He stood next to himself at the sinks, only coming up to his own shoulder. _I can't even think straight about this, only coming up to my own shoulder… _He busily started to brush Harry's teeth and comb his hair, finally starting to sympathize about the whole "unruly hair" thing. He almost felt bad for shouting at him so often for taking so long in the mirror before breakfast. He couldn't help but glance at himself every once in a while though. He assumed Harry was in there, in Ron's body, but he knew he couldn't say anything about it while other people might hear him.

Finally, the other boy turned and spoke to him. "Ron?"

_Could it really be Harry? _"H-Harry?"

"Oh, thank Merlin, it's you. I was worried it would be more complicated."

_I really think it is pretty complicated already. I really have to crane my neck back to look myself in the eye, this is so weird. _"Harry? You're short." _Okay, that was kinda stupid to say, but I'm under duress here!_

"Yes, Ron, I always have been short, thanks for noticing now. I'm assuming you've considered already that this needs to be kept quiet. I'm hoping we can get it fixed almost immediately. So, we're going to breakfast and then we're going to Dumbledore's office. You can't let it slip at breakfast, we have to pretend to be each other."

_Well, that's not going to be easy. And I think we're missing something major here. _"But, how did we get like this? Did someone slip us polyjuice potion?"

"No, you know that's only temporary, and you would have noticed that flavor, remember how horrible it tasted? Not to mention the racking pains when you change. I don't think that's what it was."

_Yeah, taking the potion was a pretty horrible experience all around, especially because it had bits of Crabbe and Goyle in it. _"Good, because as much as you're my mate and all, I really don't want to be eating anything that might have your fingernails in it."

"Um…thanks, I think. Anyway, we have to go to breakfast. Remember, you're me, and I'm you, until we get to Dumbledore. Okay?"

_I can do that, can't I? _Ron nodded. "Right."


End file.
